A lifelong “foodie” turned activist, Tiffani has been writing and researching food system change for over seven years. Particularly motivated by the nexus of race and food, Tiffani is an advocate for just food systems and can be found talking about it with anyone who will listen. A gifted writer and storyteller, she leads several areas of educational programming, communications strategy, engagement, and internal operations at Real Food Media, and co-produces and co-hosts the Real Food Reads and Foodtopias podcasts with Tanya Kerssen. Tiffani brings years of active engagement in food policy discussions, event organizing, storytelling for change, facilitating important discussions around food system transformation, and the connection of art, music, and culture to food in the Bay Area and beyond. Tiffani serves on the HEAL Food Alliance Steering Council, the Oakland Food Policy Council, and the Center for Urban Education About Sustainable Agriculture’s (CUESA) Education Committee. She holds an MPA and an MBA in Sustainable Management from Presidio Graduate School and is based in Oakland, California.
2021 School of Political Leadership
Team: Good Food Oakland
Tiffani Patton
Co-Director, Real Food Media &
Member of the Oakland Food Policy Council
I believe SoPL is a step in reimagining what leadership and power look like and can achieve. Being in SoPL will give us the opportunity (and the support) to strengthen existing skills, learn new ones, and, perhaps most importantly—convene with people who are working to transform their communities into spaces that reflect the people who live in them.
Tiffani on what SoPL means to her